Unknown soldier
by Lacey99
Summary: A rewrite of the episode Unknown soldier


This is a rewrite of the episode Unknown Soldier. Instead of Vukovic and Graves, it's Harm and Mac taking the trip. I've kept most of the story, but made some changes.

The characters doesn't belong to me.

Mistakes are mine.

Unknown Soldier

Day 1: Louisville, Kentucky

Mac huffed for what must have been the tenth time since Harm left her to find them a car. There had been some mix up with their reservation, and the car that was supposed to be ready for them when they arrived wasn't there.

It was sunny, dry and too damn hot, and Mac was wondering what had possessed her to give up her leave to come here with Harm. Oh yeas, the General's request for a favour, and Harm persuading her that it would be a fun trip.

She was just about to reach for her cellphone, when Harm drove up in a bright red sports car, his grin so wide she wondered if he'd won the lottery in the short while he'd been gone.

"Isn't this car just super cool?"

Super cool? Who said that, except for teenage girls? Mac put her bag in the back and opened the door to climb in.

"It's a Dodge Viper." Harm put his hand on the steering wheel and a look of pride replaced the smile. "I've always wanted to drive one of these. Frank once thought about buying one, but then he decided on a Bugatti Veyron instead. Those cars are amazing too, and believe me when I say that I've had some fun borrowing it, but I've always had my eyes on one of these. Not that I would trade my own Classic Corvette for any car, but it's fun to dream right?"

"Okay." Mac said, half paying attention to his babbling.

"Come on Mac. This car can really go fast. We'll just hit the road, feel the wind in our hair... huh?"

Mac had to smile a little. It was as if the serious, duty oriented Navy Commander had been replaced by a boy, eager to do something playful and fun. "Sure, let's get some wind in our hair."

His smile widened again. "Buckle up." Then he drove off. His mission for the trip was to get Mac's mind away from all her troubles and to show her some fun.

After the meeting with William Cresswell

Harm handed a coffee to Mac, and got into the car. "So. What's next?"

Mac sipped her coffee. She thought about William's word, and decided that there was only one right thing to do. "Vicksburg, Mississippi."

Harm looked thoughtful. He had hoped that this would be a short visit and that he'd be able to take Mac with him to the New Orleans jazz festival, hear some music, relax and have some fun. He had to admit though that the talk they'd had with William Cresswell made him want to figure out if John Johnson had a family. He finally nodded. "Okay, let's go to Vicksburg, Mississippi."

"Good, let's go." She seemed pleased that he agreed with her.

"Tonight?" Harm hadn't meant that they'd drive tonight. "What if we get a room somewhere, get a good nights sleep and leave tomorrow morning."

"Nope, let's go." Mac smiled. "Come on Harm, let's drive right now. Who needs to sleep in a bed? We'll sleep in shifts."

Harm hesitated, but he could see how eager Mac was. "Fine, let's go." He started the car and drove off.

Day 2: Vicksburg, Mississippi

Mac parked the car and turned to Harm. He looked peaceful and she hated that she had to wake him up, but they had a job to do.

She touched his arm lightly. "Wake up."

Some grumpy noises later he finally opened his eyes. "Is it morning already?"

"Let's get some coffee, and we need to have a decent breakfast." Mac had already opened the car door, and she got out and stretched. "Come on, Harm."

He reluctantly opened the car door and got out. "I need strong coffee, Mac."

"Don't worry, we'll find a nice diner." She smiled when he ran a hand through his hair and yawned widely. "This is fun."

Harm studied her for a second, wondering how they had ended up switching roles since the previous day. Now she was the one talking about fun, while he was huffing.

She studied him with curiosity. He looked like he was dwelling on something. "Are you coming?"

He nodded and offered a slight smile. "Yes, I'm right behind you."

Thirty minutes later Harm watched with amusement as Mac dug into a breakfast he'd have guessed was for two people to share. He took another bite of his toast and regretted not ordering an omelette.

Mac noticed his longing look. "You can have some of mine." She offered, knowing that he'd say no, even though he wanted to taste her food.

"No, that's okay." He took another bite of his toast, wondering why he couldn't just take a bite of her food. After all, they were on a vacation of sorts. He didn't have to eat all healthy on a vacation, now did he? "You know Mac, I'll have some of that."

She smiled and moved her plate closer to his. "Just take some over on your plate."

He smiled back and did as he was told. It tasted amazing. "Wow, this is great Mac."

"I told you to order it." She reminded him.

He just nodded as he took another big bite of the omelette. "This is really great, Mac."

She laughed softly. "It really is."

That night, a local hotel.

They had decided to get a good nights sleep in real beds that night. Since the hotel was renovating at the moment they had limited space, and they had to decide if sharing a room was okay, or they'd have to find another place for the night. Mac and Harm had decided that they didn't want to move to another hotel, so they just accepted the key and found the room. It wasn't like they'd never slept in the same room before.

"It's only one bed." Mac pointed out.

"I'll sleep in that chair." Harm offered half heartedly, pointing to a small chair standing in a corner. The last thing he wanted was to sleep in a sitting position that night as well. Hopefully Mac would insist that he'd sleep with her.

She didn't disappoint. "Don't be silly, it's a big bed and it's not like we've never slept together before... In the same bed I mean." She hurried to locate the bathroom door. "I'll just take a quick shower."

An hour later they had both showered and they were now in bed, together.

Harm tried to find a comfortable position, but the bed was lumpy and hard so he sat up instead. "So, you regret coming here yet?"

"Are you kidding, I love these uncomfortable hotel beds." Mac joked and sat up as well.

Harm laughed softly. "We could have gotten a better hotel."

"We'll live." Mac smiled. "I've slept in worse places."

"Yeah, I guess you have." He leaned against the wall behind him and looked thoughtful.

Mac studied him, wondering what was going on in his head.

"Hey Mac, have you ever thought about leaving the military?" He said suddenly, making Mac jump a little in surprise. She'd been lost in her own thoughts.

"I did once, remember?" she said, the bad memory floating back to her. "I don't know if I'd ever want to do it again."

"I've had some offers," he said quietly.

Mac was wondering were he was going with this. Sure he'd had offers, they both had, but she'd never imagine him taking them seriously.

"I'm considering it. I've spent twenty years in the Navy, maybe it's time to do something else..." He let the sentence hang in the air.

When Mac didn't respond, he continued. "With our trial experience we could make a fortune in a private firm. You'd have to stay in for a few more years to be able to resign honourably, but it's an idea right? More money, less work, we'd have time for vacations, long weekends away. It really is something to consider."

At this point Mac was thinking that someone looking like Harm had replaced him. Harm didn't talk like that. Harm was a dedicated officer, putting duty before anything. He wouldn't talk like that.

"We could get married, buy a big house, fill it with kids and maybe have a dog."

Now Mac was staring at him as though he'd grown at least two more heads.

"I think I'm ready to settle down, you know?"

No, she really didn't know!

"I guess Mattie has made me realise that there's more to life than just the Navy. And she's going to need some serious help getting back on her feet again. It's really a miracle she's still alive."

Mac realised that Harm was staring at her, probably expecting her to respond.

"Yeah, it's a miracle." Mac mumbled. "What's her Doctor saying?"

"Months of physiotherapy, small chance that she'll ever walk again..." He stretched a little and lay back down. "But there's always hope, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Mac agreed. "We'll just have to wait and see.

Harm turned off the light by the bed. "Well, we better get some sleep."

Mac lay down as well, still dwelling on Harm's words. "Good night, Harm," she mumbled quietly. There was no way she'd be able to sleep.

Day 3:

They had more or less been driving from one place to another all day, listening to peoples stories, their music, and gotten the news that Elroy Johnson was dead. So much for the idea of finding the guy, getting his DNA to compare to the remains found, and then giving Joe Johnson the marked grave he deserved. They were both very disappointed, and also they dreaded having to tell William Cresswell that they'd ended up not locating any family members.

The disappointment didn't last too long though. Now they'd figured out that Elroy was alive, but according to a local singer he'd left and didn't want to e found. They still had a small hope that he'd show up if they just stayed there long enough.

Harm and Mac were sitting in that same bar, after talking to the local singer, sipping on their cold drinks.

"So, what you said last night. Did you mean it?" Mac had been looking for the courage to ask all day, and she finally found it.

"I really did." Harm said without hesitation.

Mac had problems believing him. "The house? Kids? Marriage? Everything?"

"Yes." Harm chuckled lightly. "I guess my way of asking you to marry me was kinda unclear, but yeah I was asking."

"You were?" Mac leaned back. "Huh..."

Suddenly Harm jumped to his feet. "That's him."

Mac watched as Harm walked over to the man who'd told them that Elroy Johnson was dead. She hurried to follow him.

Day 4:

Harm reached for Mac's hand as they were leaving William Cresswell's house and walked back to their car. Mac was surprised, but she let him hold her.

"Mission accomplished," he said as they reached the car.

"Yeah." Mac stopped and tugged on Harm's hand. "Harm, I'm glad you convinced me to come with you on this trip."

He offered a sweet smile. "I'm glad you came."

She nodded. "And about what you told me, and asked me, I just want you to know that I'm on board."

His face cracked into a huge smile. "Really?"

By now her smile matched his. "Yes."

He leaned in and kissed her. "Let's drive to New Orleans. We still have a few more days before we have to report back at JAG."

"I think that's a brilliant idea, Harm." Mac agreed.

They got into the car, non of them knowing yet that they'd be married by the time they were back in Washington D.C, and that a year later a miracle in form of a baby would make their happiness complete.

THE END


End file.
